As a new crop of journalists walked across the stage at Kings College in Halifax, a New Brunswick businessman was also being recognized for his contributions to news media in Atlantic Canada and Ontario.
John K.F. Irving is the President of Ocean Capital Investments (OCI), which owns companies in the realms of broadcasting, real estate and construction, including Acadia Broadcasting Corporation.
Irving was awarded an honourary Doctor of Civil Law from the University of Kings College, for his efforts to sustain local journalism and for his effort in preserving historically significant buildings.
“Acadia Broadcasting’s media form a vital and increasingly rare network delivering local news, sports and entertainment radio to less densely-populated regions — communities often poorly-served by the trend toward concentrating news and reporting out of major centers,” said a release from the university.
Acadia Broadcasting owns 15 radio stations across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario, along with Maritime online business news publication Huddle.
“Depending on who you ask, any one of the companies Irving has run or been affiliated with can be credited with making a substantial positive impact on communities spread across Canada — be it through the sensitive restoration of historic buildings undertaken by Commercial Properties Limited, or the many jobs and important industrial contracts created through OSCO Construction Group,” the release also said.
Irving was recognized alongside trailblazers like Gordon Earle, who drafted the first Nova Scotia Human Rights Act and was the first African Nova Scotian elected to parliament; Nova Scotia journalist Sherri Borden-Colley; musician Chris “Old Man” Luedecke; and Janet Hathaway, who was honoured for her years of service to the university as its librarian and archivist.
This radio station is owned by Acadia Broadcasting Corp, which is part of Ocean Capital Investments.news
